This edition was prepared by Barry Johnston — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Colchester
Staff Notation • Sacred
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2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
SATB · Barry Johnston
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Colchester by Jacob French — Lyrics
In finem, in carminibus. Intellectus David.
Exaudi, Deus, orationem meam, et ne despexeris deprecationem meam:
intende mihi, et exaudi me. Contristatus sum in exercitatione mea, et conturbatus sum
a voce inimici, et a tribulatione peccatoris. Quoniam declinaverunt in me iniquitates,
et in ira molesti erant mihi.
Cor meum conturbatum est in me, et formido mortis cecidit super me.
Timor et tremor venerunt super me, et contexerunt me tenebrae.
Et dixi: Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae, et volabo, et requiescam?
Ecce elongavi fugiens, et mansi in solitudine.
Exspectabam eum qui salvum me fecit a pusillanimitate spiritus, et tempestate.
Praecipita, Domine; divide linguas eorum: quoniam vidi iniquitatem et contradictionem in civitate.
Die ac nocte circumdabit eam super muros ejus iniquitas; et labor in medio ejus,
et injustitia: et non defecit de plateis ejus usura et dolus.
Quoniam si inimicus meus maledixisset mihi, sustinuissem utique.
Et si is qui oderat me super me magna locutus fuisset,
abscondissem me forsitan ab eo.
Tu vero homo unanimis, dux meus, et notus meus:
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About Colchester
Jacob French's motet, Colchester, sets a deeply personal and dramatic Latin text. The music is for SATB choir and opens with the composer exploring the emotional turmoil of the singer, who feels overwhelmed by enemies and sin. The text moves from distress to a longing for peace, a desire to 'fly away like a dove' and find rest. The composer vividly captures the shift from profound fear and darkness to a hopeful plea for deliverance. The contrasting languages and emotional journeys within the text offer rich interpretative possibilities for a choir, creating a powerful and evocative musical statement.
